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Raiden
Raiden is a 1990 vertical shooter Arcade game that was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. It was the first game in the popular ''Raiden'' Series of scrolling shooter arcade games. It was eventually ported to several systems. Raiden first made its debut in September 1990. The game was distributed in Japan, North America by Fabtek, Taiwan by Liang HWA Electronics, Korea by IBL Corporation, Hong Kong by Wah Yan Electronics, Malaysia as well as other countries. Story In the year 2090, Earth has suddenly become the target of deranged aliens. Following the invasion, a new cutting-edge weapon, the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter, based on the destroyed alien craft, is created for humanity's hope for survival. Gameplay Raiden is a standard shoot them up video game. The gameplay is very similar to other series, particularly Darius. The story mode expands the gameplay leavign more drama and enemies to face. After completing one full run of the storyline, the game will reset and loop over once more. Weapons and Power-Ups Raiden consists of a simple variety of weapons obtainable from power-ups. Primary * Vulcan Cannon: This is the default weapon that the Raiden fighter uses. It fires two simple, straight forward shots that deal minimal damage. The weapon can be upgraded by red power-ups, which will increase the number of shots fired as well as expand the spread of the shots. * Ion Laser: The alternative weapon for the Raiden fighter, it is a straight forward beam that deals a greater amount of damage than the Vulcan Cannon, but at the cost of a limited spread. The weapon can be upgraded by blue power-ups, which will increase the length of the beam, add an additional beam to the firepower, or even increase the width the beams, allowing for a greater damage output. At maximum power, a single large beam roughly the width of the player's fighter will be fired. Missiles * Nuclear Missiles: One of two secondary weapons obtainable, these are long, yellow-orange missiles that move in a single line and upon impact deal a devastating about of damage. The weapon can be upgraded by means of yellow "M" power-ups, which will increases the size of the missiles and the number fired. * Homing Missiles: An alternative to the aforementioned missile, these green, arrow-shaped missiles will seek out nearby enemies and destroy them. While they are more accurate than the nuclear missiles, they deal less damage however. They can be upgraded by means of a green "H" power-up, which will increase the size, fire rate, and firepower of the missiles. Bombs A third type of weapon the player's fighter is utilized with is a thermonuclear bomb. When deployed, they will create an explosion that will destroy any enemy and severely damage any boss within its radius. The player has a limited amount of these, and they should use them sparingly, as maintaining them will grant the player a bonus at the end of each level. They can be obtained, by means of red "B" power-ups. Other Weapons * Occasionally, if the player destroys a specific scenery prop on certain levels, they will release a fairy, which upon acquisition, will give the player 10000 points, and upon their next death, will release several power-ups so that the player can partially restore some of the weapons they had lost. * Sometimes, instead of a standard weapon power-up, a "P" power-up will be released. Obtaining this power-up will upgrade the player's current weapons to full power. Miscellaneous Items Besides weapon power-ups, other items can be obtained by the Raiden fighter as well. * Medals: Destroying certain enemies and scenery will release a one of two possible medals, either a small, bronze medal which will increase the player's score by 50 points, or a large, silver medal, which will grant the player 500 points. One even rarer occasions, a character will be in the place of the medals, which upon acquisition will grant the player a bonus of 5000 points. * Additional Lives: Once the player reaches a score of 50000 points, they will be awarded with an additional life. Afterwards, every 100000 points they obtain will grant them more additional lives. Sometimes, an extra life maybe released from a crate, although this occurrence is rare. Trivia *Raiden is pronounced "RHY-den" as many confuse it for "RAY-den". External links *Seibu Kaihatsu Inc. Official homepage *Moss Official homepage for Raiden Series Category: Vertically Scrolling Shooters Category: Seibu Kaihatsu Inc. Category: Arcade Category: Games Category:Raiden Series Category:Mega Drive Category:Jaguar Category:SNES Category:Turbo Grafx-16 Category:Lynx